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Used cars - what do I need to know?
Long story short, I know shit all about cars and before I spend my monies on one, I'm hoping to be steered away from (or to) certain types of cars that are relatively good for what I need
andddd heres what I need
- good in the snow
- reliable
- gas considerations
Personal experiences and such are definitely welcomed.
Budget uh... anything under 8k would be great. I was looking a bit at the Jeep/SUV types but really, anything helps here as I'm completely clueless
andddd heres what I need
- good in the snow
- reliable
- gas considerations
Personal experiences and such are definitely welcomed.
Budget uh... anything under 8k would be great. I was looking a bit at the Jeep/SUV types but really, anything helps here as I'm completely clueless
Comments
i wouldn't consider a car good or bad in the snow....
in conditions with bad traction anything with 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive will help u get moving
kinda like how abs will help u stop quicker
but both of those are pretty useless without a good set of tires to get traction
a lot of cars have abs as an option, in winter u can throw on steelies w/ winter tires and if ur really noob enough to need awd then look for something that has that...
sayn the corolla sucks in the snow IMO is a stupid claim, if it had shity tires on and driven like shit then ya... any car can suck in the snow
back in gr 11 i has a 89 grand am, threw some new winter tires on the front wheels (as its a fwd) and it performed more then well in the snow
i drove around on bald all seasons with chains on my drive wheels this winter and it did fine, even in my residential street that had atleast a good foot of snow on the ground at any given point.
for 8k you cant really find anything... "satisfying".... in terms of performance or "hey look at that douche bag driving his fancy shmancy car" : )
but...
civics, camrys and corollas all come to mind in terms of "reliability" as well as "gas mileage"...
i drive around 100km on a school day. 80 to sfu and back and 20 around town on the same day. and thus far my 2.4L needs a fill probably at the end of the week. i get around 530km city/highway which is not too bad but others like the civic and rolla could probably do better, albeit at a sacrafice of power.
from my experience, front wheel drive is easier to manage in snow than rear wheel drive. of course awd is the best but when the engine has to power all 4 wheels all the time the gas mileage is lower compared to engines with similar specs.
personal experience? i've driven my car up to kelowna and whistler during heavy snow and it did fine with chains, no snow tires. albeit i had more tread on my tires during those trips ;)
but some more info is needed before anyone can REALLY help you.
can you drive manual?
do you have a brand preference? or place of manufacture?
is the car for just school and daily commute? or do you also want it for say... long road trips and other stuff?
is the 8k you have saved up for the car only? or do you need to factor in insurance, oil change and tune up into that cost as well?
when buying any car used i'd probably check the following things,
engine; simply starting up the car and listening for any weird noises can be done by anyone who doesnt really know stuff about cars. if it sounds wrong chances are theres something off with it. screeching alternaters, the off-set clickity clack of a worn timing belt and other common noises are dead give aways.
try looking under the area where the car was parked, preferably if it was parked there over night. are there any fluid leaks? or oil spots on the ground?
when you test drive the car does the transmission shift well into gear without fight or grind. does it shift in TOO easily? when driving does the car accelerate decently? (not talking racing but say merging onto a highway)
check the tires, is there a decent amount of tread left on them? this is important as finding a used car with good tread is a real bonus so that you dont have to change the tires a few months in of owning the car.
interior; is it clean? all seatbelts function correctly?
test out the window wipers as well, just to make sure its not gonna be another thing u have to replace. maybe you can get the dealership (if you purchase from a used dealership) to replace it for you or if your buying private maybe they can knock a few bux off.
ask for paper work, particularly last oil change. so you know roughly how many kms you can drive before it'll need a tune.
thats all i can think of for now.
good luck
I know someone with a firebird in excellent shape that wants to sell, msg if ur interested.
i've had both dealership sales ppl and private sale ppl tell me cars have had no accidents when in fact they did
and arent pontiac firebirds v8s? not exactly good gas mileage that hes looking for i think.
of course the rear wheel drive with snow tires will outperform the fwd with shit tires :confused:
which is why i was pointing out that it has more to do with the tires than anything else. happy?
and the firebird is a v6...
danoobie, do you like american cars?
but since you obviously have a "superior" knowledge of cars and had to be a pretentious douchebag about it, you had to point out it was obvious, amiright?
Plus we had a Chrysler that had the transmission die about a year ago, so bad experience there too
If i had money to buy a car I would buy a Volvo 850R wagon. Those things are pimp!
Both things most vancouverites lack and why most of them end up in the ditch because they think they can drive in the snow with their all seasons.
The reason most people here end up in the ditch is because they have no fucking idea how to drive in the snow.
Phil